Freakonomics Rev Ed

parents use a name to signal their own expectations of how successful their children will be.

but many parents, whether they realize it or not, like the sound of names that sound “successful.”

There is a clear pattern at play: once a name catches on among high-income, highly educated parents, it starts working its way down the socioeconomic ladder.

His name is an indicator—not a cause—of his outcome.

But the kind of parents who name their son Jake don’t tend to live in the same neighborhoods or share economic circumstances with the kind of parents who name their son DeShawn.

does have a worse life outcome

The “white” résumés have always gleaned more job interviews.

an unmarried, low-income, undereducated teenage mother from a black neighborhood who has a distinctively black name herself.

your life reflected in his name?